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03 - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll · Thrilling Adventures - Daily

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  Speaker 1: Chapter three, A caucus race and a long Tale. They
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: were indeed a queer looking party that assembled on the bank,
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  Speaker 1: the birds with draggled feathers, the animals with their fur
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  Speaker 1: clinging close to them, and all dripping, wet, cross and uncomfortable.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: The first question, of course, was how to get dry again.
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  Speaker 1: They had a consultation about this, and after a few
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  Speaker 1: minutes it seemed quite natural to Alice to find herself
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  Speaker 1: talking familiarly with them, as if she had known them
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  Speaker 1: all her life. Indeed, she had quite a long argue
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  Speaker 1: with the lory, who at last turned sulky and would
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  Speaker 1: only say, I am older than you and must know better.
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  Speaker 1: And this Alice would not allow, without knowing how old
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  Speaker 1: it was, And as the lory positively refused to tell
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  Speaker 1: its age, there was no more to be said. At last,
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  Speaker 1: the mouse, who seemed to be a person of authority
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  Speaker 1: among them, called out, sit down, all of you and
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  Speaker 1: listen to me. I'll soon make you dry enough. They
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  Speaker 1: all sat down at once in a large ring, with
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  Speaker 1: the mouse in the middle. Alice kept her eyes anxiously
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  Speaker 1: thick on it, for she felt sure she would catch
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  Speaker 1: a bad cold if she did not get dry. Very
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  Speaker 1: soon ahem, said the mouse, with an important air. Are
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  Speaker 1: you already? This is the driest thing I know? Silence
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  Speaker 1: all round, if you please. William the conqueror, whose cause
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  Speaker 1: was favored by the Pope, was soon submitted to by
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  Speaker 1: the English, who wanted leaders and had been of late
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  Speaker 1: much accustomed to usurpation, and conquest Edwin and Morcar, the
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  Speaker 1: earls of Mercia and Northumbria. Ugh said the lory with
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  Speaker 1: a shiver. I beg your pardon, said the mouse, frowning,
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  Speaker 1: but very politely. Did you speak not, I said the
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  Speaker 1: lorry hastily. I thought you did, said the mouse. I
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  Speaker 1: proceed Edwin and Morcar, the earls of Mercia and Northumbria
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  Speaker 1: declared for him, and even stigand the patriotic Archbishop of
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  Speaker 1: Canterbury found it advisable. Found what, said the duck? Found it?
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  Speaker 1: The mouse replied, rather crossly. Of course you know what
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  Speaker 1: it means. I know what it means well enough. When
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  Speaker 1: I find a thing, said the duck, it's generally a
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  Speaker 1: frog or a worm. The question is what did the
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  Speaker 1: archbishop find? The mouse did not notice this question, but
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  Speaker 1: hurriedly went on. Found it advisable to go with Edgar,
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  Speaker 1: etheling to meet William and offer him the crown. William's
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  Speaker 1: conduct was at first moderate, but the insolence of his normans.
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  Speaker 1: How are you getting on now, my dear, it continued,
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  Speaker 1: turning to Alice as it spoke. As wet as ever,
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  Speaker 1: said Alice in a melancholy tone. It doesn't seem to
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  Speaker 1: dry me at all in that case, said the Dodo, solemnly,
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  Speaker 1: rising to its fear eat. I move that the meeting
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  Speaker 1: adjourned for the immediate adoption of more energetic remedies. Speak English,
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  Speaker 1: said the eaglet. I don't know the meaning of half
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  Speaker 1: those long words, and what's more, I don't believe you
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  Speaker 1: do either, And the eaglet bent down its head to
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  Speaker 1: hide a smile. Some of the other birds tittered audibly.
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  Speaker 1: What I was going to say, said the Dodo, in
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  Speaker 1: an offended tone, was that the best thing is to
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  Speaker 1: get us dry would be a caucus race. What is
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  Speaker 1: a caucus race? Said Alice, not that she wanted much
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  Speaker 1: to know, but that Dodo had paused as if it
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  Speaker 1: thought that somebody ought to speak, and no one else
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  Speaker 1: seemed inclined to say anything. Why, said the Dodo. The
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  Speaker 1: best way to explain it is to do it, and
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  Speaker 1: you might like to try the thing yourself some winter day.
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  Speaker 1: I will tell you how the Dodo managed it. First
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  Speaker 1: it marked out a race course in a sort of circle.
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  Speaker 1: The exact shape doesn't matter, it said, And then all
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  Speaker 1: the party were placed along the course. Here and there
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  Speaker 1: there was no one, two, three, and away. But they
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  Speaker 1: began running when they liked and left off when they liked,
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  Speaker 1: so that it was not easy to know when the
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  Speaker 1: race was over. However, when they had been running half
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  Speaker 1: an hour or so and were quite dry again, the
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  Speaker 1: Dodo suddenly called out the race is over, and they
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  Speaker 1: all crowded round it, panting and asking, but who has won?
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  Speaker 1: This question the Dodo could not answer without a great
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  Speaker 1: deal of thought, and it sat for a long time
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  Speaker 1: with one finger pressed upon its forehead, the position in
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  Speaker 1: which you usually see Shakespeare in the pictures of him,
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  Speaker 1: while the rest waited in silence. At last, the Dodo said,
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  Speaker 1: everybody has won, and all must have prizes. But who
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  Speaker 1: is to give the prizes? Quite a chorus of voices
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  Speaker 1: asked why she, of course, said the Dodo, pointing to
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  Speaker 1: Alice with one finger, and the whole party at once
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  Speaker 1: crowded round her, calling out in a confused way, prizes, prizes.
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  Speaker 1: Alice had no idea what to do, and in despair,
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  Speaker 1: she put her hand in her pocket and pulled out
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  Speaker 1: a box of comfits, luckily the salt water had not
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  Speaker 1: got into it, and handed them round as prizes. There
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  Speaker 1: was exactly one a piece all round. But she should
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  Speaker 1: but she must have a prize herself, you know, said
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  Speaker 1: the mouse. Of course, the Dodo replied, very gravely. What
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  Speaker 1: else have you got in your pocket? He went on,
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  Speaker 1: turning to Alice, Only a thimble, said Alice. Sadly, hand
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  Speaker 1: it over here, said the Dodo. Then they all crowded
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  Speaker 1: around her once more, while the Dodo solemnly presented the thimble, saying,
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  Speaker 1: we beg your acceptance of this elegant thimble. And when
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  Speaker 1: it had finished this short speech, they all cheered. Alice
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  Speaker 1: thought the whole thing very absurd, but they all looked
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  Speaker 1: so grave that she did not dare to laugh, And
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  Speaker 1: as she could not think of anything to say, she
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  Speaker 1: simply bowed and took the thimble, looking as solemn as
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  Speaker 1: she could. The next thing was to eat the comfits.
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  Speaker 1: This caused some noise and confusion, as the large birds
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  Speaker 1: complained that they could not taste theirs, and the small
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  Speaker 1: ones choked and had to be petted on the back. However,
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  Speaker 1: it was over at last, and they sat down again
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  Speaker 1: in a ring and begged the mouse to tell them
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  Speaker 1: something more. You promised to tell me your history, you know,
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  Speaker 1: said Alice. And why it is you hate C and D?
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  Speaker 1: She added in a whisper, half afraid that it would
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  Speaker 1: be a fed again. Mine is a long and a
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  Speaker 1: sad tale, said the mouse, turning to Alice and sighing.
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  Speaker 1: It is a long tail, certainly, said Alice, looking down
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  Speaker 1: with wonder at the mouse's tail. But why do you
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  Speaker 1: call it sad? And she kept on puzzling about it
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  Speaker 1: while the mouse was speaking, so that her idea of
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  Speaker 1: the tale was something like this. Here the words are
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  Speaker 1: written on the page one, two, four on a line,
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  Speaker 1: and the lines are offset, so they snake down the
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  Speaker 1: page in a wavy fashion. And here's what they say.
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  Speaker 1: Fury said to a mouse that he met in the house.
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  Speaker 1: Let us both go to law. I will prosecute you. Come,
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  Speaker 1: I'll take no denial. We must have a trial. For
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  Speaker 1: really this morning, I've nothing to do, said the mouse
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  Speaker 1: to the cur Such a trial. Dear sir, with no
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  Speaker 1: jury or judge would be wasting our breath. I'll be judge.
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  Speaker 1: I'll be jury, said cunning old fury. I'll try the
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  Speaker 1: whole cause and condemn you to death. And there's where
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  Speaker 1: the snaky text ends, continuing. You are not attending, said
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  Speaker 1: the mouse to Alice severely. What are you thinking of?
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  Speaker 1: I beg your pardon, said Alice, very humbly. You had
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  Speaker 1: got to the fifth bend I think I had not,
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  Speaker 1: cried the mouse, sharply and very angrily. A knot, said Alice,
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  Speaker 1: always ready to make herself useful, and looking anxiously about her.
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  Speaker 1: Oh do let me help to undo it. I shall
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  Speaker 1: do nothing of the sort, said the mouse, getting up
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  Speaker 1: and walking away. You insult me by talking such nonsense.
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  Speaker 1: I didn't mean it, pleaded poor Alice. But you're so
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  Speaker 1: easily offended, you know. The mouse only growled in reply.
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  Speaker 1: Please come back and finish your story, Alice called after it,
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  Speaker 1: and the all joined in chorus. Yes, please do. But
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  Speaker 1: the mouse only shook its head impatiently and walked a
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  Speaker 1: little quicker. What a pity it wouldn't stay, sighed the
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  Speaker 1: lory as soon as it was quite out of sight,
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  Speaker 1: and an old crab took the opportunity of saying to
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  Speaker 1: her daughter, Ah, my dear, let this be a lesson
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  Speaker 1: to you, never to lose your temper hold your tongue, ma,
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  Speaker 1: said the young crab a little snappishly. You're enough to
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  Speaker 1: try the patience of an oyster. Oh I wish I
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  Speaker 1: had our Dinah here, I know I do, said Alice aloud,
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  Speaker 1: addressing nobody in particular. She'd soon fetch it back. And
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  Speaker 1: who is Dinah? If I might venture to ask the questions?
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  Speaker 1: Said the lory, Alice replied eagerly, for she was always
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  Speaker 1: ready to talk about her pet. Dinah's our cat, And
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  Speaker 1: she's such a capital one for catching mice, you can't think.
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  Speaker 1: And oh, I wish you could see her after the birds.
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  Speaker 1: Why she'll eat a little bird as soon as look
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  Speaker 1: at it. This speech caused a remarkable sensation among the party.
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  Speaker 1: Some of the birds hurried off at once. One old
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  Speaker 1: magpie began wrapping itself up very carefully, remarking, I really
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  Speaker 1: must be getting home. The night air doesn't suit my throat.
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  Speaker 1: And the canary called out in a trembling voice to
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  Speaker 1: its children, come away, my DearS, it's high time you
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  Speaker 1: were all in bed. On various pretexts, they all moved off,
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  Speaker 1: and Alice was soon left alone. Oh I wish I
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  Speaker 1: hadn't mentioned Dinah, she said to herself in a melancholy tone.
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  Speaker 1: Nobody seems to like her down here, and I'm sure
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  Speaker 1: she's the best cat in the world. Oh my dear Dinah,
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  Speaker 1: I wonder if I shall ever see you anymore. And
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  Speaker 1: here poor Alice began to cry again, for she felt
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  Speaker 1: very lonely and low spirited. In a little while, however,
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  Speaker 1: she again heard a little pattering of footsteps in the distance,
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  Speaker 1: and she looked up eagerly, half hoping that the mouse
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  Speaker 1: had changed his mind and was coming back to finish
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  Speaker 1: his story. This is the end of chapter three.